Legally Blonde prequel series Elle is sugary sweet – but misses the mark

The series Elle is out on Amazon Prime Video this week, a prequel to Reese Witherspoon’s 2001 Legally Blonde.

It might come as no surprise that it’s appropriately pink and sparkly, given we’re returning to the glitzy world of future lawyer Elle Woods.

The main characters are arguably even more developed in the show than they were in the original movie 25 years ago, which perhaps isn’t a shock given we have eight episodes to delve into, rather than just two hours.

But while I wanted to love Elle, it didn’t hit the sweet spot I hoped it would. Her character arc was too similar to the film, and it was lacking in uniqueness to justify being a prequel.

In season one, Elle finds out that she and her parents, Eva (June Diane Raphael) and Wyatt (Tom Everett Scott), are moving from Los Angeles to Seattle after her dad botched someone’s nose job. Elle’s dad feels far more Phil Dunphy-esque than the two-dimensional, dismissive dad he was in the original screenplay.

The two cities couldn’t be further apart vibes-wise, and Elle must learn to adapt in new surroundings with more plaid and fewer frills.

Before I had the chance to watch the show for this review, I was concerned that if Elle became too evolved in the series, then she would be a far cry from the superficial character she is at the start of the film.

In the show, Elle follows a similar fish-out-of-water trajectory as she goes from caring hugely about her appearance and reputation to seeing more value in community and authenticity.

While it’s lovely to see Elle realise this, it comes too early on in her life.

This makes me wonder: what could happen in the second season to derail this beautiful path to emotional enlightenment?

Will there be a clumsy regression so that Elle’s character in the film makes more sense? Or are we taking this prequel series as an abstract look at the pink universe? After all, it has been described in promotional material as coming from the ‘world of Legally Blonde’, and a prequel doesn’t always have to be taken so literally.

I fear that audiences like me will find it hard to disassociate from the film that’s so ingrained in popular culture and regard this series as a repeat of the same storyline.

Saying that, what we already have is a genre-defining movie which centres on a funny, strong woman who has inspired so many – so maybe there’s no harm in going again.

And Lexi has the potential to do the same for this Elle.

The 25-year-old plays the student with huge amounts of depth for a character who, on the surface, at first appears shallow.

She possesses equally impeccable comedic timing as well as the soft but assertive character traits that make the titular character so lovable.

So, if you’re looking for more of the same, you’re definitely in the right place.

Some parallel moments work smartly to connect the series with the film. In episode three, Elle turns up to a party dressed in the wrong attire, mirroring the moment in the movie when Vivian (Selma Blair) tricks her into wearing a costume for a social gathering. Who can forget that bunny outfit?

Watching the series and the film back-to-back (I’ve had a very Blonde weekend), I could see some significant personal development.

While in the series she reacts with total embarrassment and a desire to hide, in the film she sees red (or dark pink) and flips out at her ex-boyfriend’s fiancée for tricking her into thinking it was fancy dress.

Her reaction now makes total sense – to think, she’s felt like an outsider before and isn’t going to let herself feel shame about it this time around.

This is something Elle is determined to learn from her new classmate Liz (nicknamed Lizbian, played by Gabrielle Policano), who doesn’t care what others think about her.

Again, this is something that older Elle, who defiantly arrives at Harvard knowing little about law, has in buckets.

After watching the series I felt proud of how far she had come and I enjoyed watching her clearly grow in confidence – it’s one of the show’s aspects that really worked.

However, in terms of trying to say something new, the series doesn’t quite go far enough.

It’s a lovely glossy revisit to the Legally franchise, with a fantastic cast, not forgetting the late, great James Van Der Beek, and some fun shoutouts to the film we know and love (pink-scented paper making its return).

But it didn’t say enough that was new and fell short of being iconic in the same way that the sugary film definitely is.

Making a prequel? What, like it’s hard?

It most certainly can be, but creator Laura Kittrell and the other executive producers, including Witherspoon, have made a good go of it.

Elle is undoubtedly Legally Blonde for a younger generation, but for those who are obsessed with the film – it might not quite hit the spot.

Elle is available to watch on Prime Video from July 1.